10 Things for Tuesday, sponsored by JFQ Lending
1) It’s taken a while, but the Aggies finally have two players who have more receiving yards than Ainias Smith’s 291. Evan Stewart is up to 478, while Moose Muhammad is at 342. Of course, Ainias got his 291 on just 15 receptions. Stewart has 38 and Moose 23.
2) I don’t think there’s much doubt on who the Devin Morris “where did he come from?” Award winner is for this year. I expected Moose to be a player and have an important role, but I did not expect him to be averaging 15 yards a catch and leading the team in touchdown passes. Defensively, the winner is Chris Russell, hands down.In four games (really, three),
3) McKinnley Jackson has already set career highs in tackles (22) and tackles for loss (2.5). He played in 10 games in both 2020 and 2021 and had 13 and 14 tackles, respectively. He had 12 last Saturday alone. If he sticks around, as he likely will (and should), he and Walter Nolen will make a very tough interior duo to deal with next season. I mean, they already are now, but a bigger and stronger Nolen is a scary proposition.
4) Which freshman defender is leading the class in tackles and tackles for loss? I’ll give you a second to think about it…..Got your answer? If you said Bryce Anderson, with 24 and 3.5 TFL, you’re right.
5) In spite of the lousy offensive line in front of him, Devon Achane has 765 rushing yards and will likely break 1,000 for the first time in his career if he stays healthy. He’s averaging a very good 5.4 yards a carry — 1.6 less than what he did last year. That’s not a slap at his performance this year, it just shows how otherworldly he was in 2021.
6) I hadn’t looked much at Florida before today, but figured they were struggling offensively. No, it’s the opposite, Their defense is struggling terribly. They’re 117th in total defense, 118th in rushing defense and 130th (dead last) in 3rd down conversion defense. So, once again, if there’s ever a game to help Conner Weigman with a heavy dose of Devon Achane, this is it.
7) Of course, the Aggies are 105th in 3rd down conversion offense, so something’s gotta give.
8) Brenton Cox, Florida’s starting outside linebacker, was kicked off the team yesterday. You could make an argument he was their best defender, as he was fifth on the team in tackles, first in tackles for loss and hurries and had a couple of sacks. It’ll be interesting to see if his absence makes the defense worse (lacking talent) or better (improved attitude).
9) I thought Anthony Richardson would break out this season. As a passer, he hasn’t. He’s only completing 55% of his passes with 7 TDs and 7 INTs. But, after last weekend, you’d better be scared to death of him because he’s averaging 6.2 yards a rush.
10) Billy Napier definitely worked Louisiana well in terms of running backs. He brought Montrell Johnson (449 yards, 7 TD) with him from Lafayette and landed Trevor Etienne of Jennings in the last class. Etienne (387 yards, 4 TD) and Johnson are both averaging better than 6 yards a pop.